It’s a long, hard row to hoe when you seek fame. While most of your favorite pop stars live large, with several mansions, expensive cars, designer clothes and fat bank accounts (not to mention the love, adoration and respect of the public), it wasn’t always that way.
Sure, many of ‘em struggle while scratching and clawing their way to the top, resorting to eating Ramen noodles, waitressing and doing whatever it takes to get by, all the while spending nights writing and recording. But some, like Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Clarkson, among others, once found themselves homeless.
That’s right. Homeless.
Whether their plights were temporary or more serious in nature, their situations were no joke. We revisit the tales of five formerly homeless artists.
Slaven Vlasic, Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez
In her August 2013 W cover story, J. Lo revealed she was homeless for a brief time. "My mom and I butted heads," she said. "I didn’t want to go to college -- I wanted to try dance full-time. So she and I had a break. I started sleeping on the sofa in the dance studio. I was homeless, but I told her, ‘This is what I have to do.'" A few months later, Lopez landed a dancing gig in Europe, moved to L.A. and the rest is history. To be fair, she was couch surfing and/or staying in seedy digs, but she also could have gone home, since clearly she was still in contact with her disapproving family. La Lopez eventually became a Fly Girl, a singer, actress, fashion designer and an 'American Idol' judge.
JohnParra, Getty Images
Pitbull
Mr. Worldwide wasn't always quite so cosmopolitan. He would fight with his mother as a Miami teen. But because the rapper was running with the wrong crowd and broke her rules, Mama Pit exercised her right to tough love and that made all the difference. “She said, 'Grab what you can in 20 minutes and get out!'" he confessed. “I said, 'Alright.' I respect my mom, my mom is my father and my mother and she’s the one that has made me a man...She spoke very clearly with me and I broke the deal. She goes, 'I understand that you’re gonna be out here, due to the neighborhood that we live in and you’re gonna be dibbling and dabbling, whatever, but there’s one thing that I don’t want you to do and that’s be involved with this type of substance or product,' and I did." He cleaned up his act and came home. Now look at him! He's Mr. 305 and more.
Pacific Coast News
Kelly Clarkson
The singer's professional rags-to-riches story is the stuff of legends. She moved to Los Angeles and auditioned for 'American Idol,' becoming the first-ever winner. It's a true Cinderella story. But getting there wasn't quite so easy. Wanna talk about bad luck? The day she and her roommate moved into an apartment complex in Hollywood, the building caught fire. The twosome were then forced to live in a car and then eventually had to take up residence homeless shelter. Thankfully, things turned around for her.
Jason Merritt, Getty Images
Jewel
The singer famously lived in her car while traveling the country, playing small gigs and performing on the street. She also worked at a computer warehouse but says she was fired when she refused her boss' advances. For a year, she was without a home but kept writing songs and appearing at coffeehouses. "I developed a loyal following. No one knew I was homeless," she said. Jewel did, however, freely discuss her formerly homeless status as her star began to rise.
Jemal Countess, Getty Images
Lil Kim
The controversial rapper and Nicki Minaj's nemesis dealt with homelessness not once but twice in her life. At the tender age of 8, Kim's mother bounced, bailing on her abusive father, forcing the two to live in their car. "There was a time when my mother and I were living out of the trunk of her car," the rapper said. "We slept in the back seat." Sounds like her mom was doing what she needed to do. But that wasn't Kim's first and only homeless stint. She later moved in with her father. He kicked her out when she was in her teens. That's rough but she prevailed in her career, becoming one of the most successful female rappers... ever.
Stars Who Used to Be Homeless 2
Dimitrios Kambouris / Michael Buckner / Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images
We’ve given you stars who were already born with silver spoons in their mouths, so we thought we’d change things up and give you some stars who rose from adversity to be the power houses they are today.
Within this list you will find actresses and actors who were begging for someone to give them shelter as they worked to better themselves. Albeit not without a few bumps along their way to stardom.
Talk about some real Cinderella stories!
Michael Buckner, Getty Images
Jim Carrey
When Jim Carrey was growing up, not everything was a joke. In his youth, he and his family lived in a Volkswagen van, which despite how 'Scooby Doo' makes it look, isn't all that glamorous. As he got older, the family moved up slightly, living inside a tent on his sister's lawn. He made ends meet by performing in Canadian comedy clubs before being noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield. It was all uphill from there.
Dimitrios-Kambouris, Getty Images
Halle Berry
Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry moved to New York City to try and become a fashion model. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out right away, and while she was seeking work she also ended up seeking a place to stay in ahomeless shelter. With no financial help from her mother, who wanted to teach her daughter a lesson about supporting herself, Berry worked from the bottom up to turn herself into the star she is today.
Jason Kempin, Getty Images
Carmen Electra
After touring with Prince when she was in her 20s, Carmen Electra found herself out of work. Things got worse when her boyfriend at the time ran off with her life-savings: $5,000. She hit her low point on a park bench while counting out the only money she had, some pocket change. Instead of giving up however, she contacted a choreographer who got her in touch with a manager who would drive her to auditions, one of which she landed. It was for the game show 'Singled Out.'
David Livingston, Getty Images
Sylvester Stallone
Before Sylvester Stallone hit it big as an action movie star, he used to sleep in New York's Port Authority bus station because he had nowhere else to go and no money to take him there. Instead of giving up, he found an ad in the paper for a softcore porn called 'The Party at Kitty and Studs.' That paid $100 a day. He worked for two days, pocketed his $200 and moved into better digs ... because $200 could get you a place in New York in the 70's.
Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images
Hilary Swank
When she was just 15-years-old, future two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank's mother packed her into their 1988 Oldsmobile Delta and brought her daughter to live out of their car in Los Angeles. Eventually a friend allowed them to move in to her empty home that she was selling, but Swank's mother worked hard for her daughter, booking her work with only the aid of a phone book. Thankfully, she was good at her craft and they soon moved to their own digs.
No comments:
Post a Comment